Senators emerged from an Iran briefing Tuesday frustrated by what they described as the Trump administration’s persistent unwillingness to engage Congress on military decisions, blasting State Department officials for holding a closed-door session when none of the information they shared was classified.
“The position of this administration, and probably most of the recent administrations, is they don’t care what Congress thinks, and they don’t believe they need any authorization for any war ever,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said, after the meeting with Trump’s special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, and others.
The contentious briefing comes as the House prepares to vote on two measures this week seeking to restrict President Trump’s ability to engage in hostilities against Iran, and as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged to testify about related policy at a date to be determined, according to Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. It was the latest in a number of such engagements between lawmakers and administration officials since the president’s controversial decision to kill a senior Iranian commander early this month. Continue reading.